Amida Brimah commits to UConn

Kevin Ollie has landed his first commitment since taking over as UConn's head coach, and it's a big one. Literally.

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Amida Brimah, a 6-foot-11 center from Miami who is said to have a 7-6 wingspan, committed to the Huskies early Monday morning while on an official visit to Storrs.

"I will be playing college basketball at (the) University of Connecticut," Brimah tweeted.

Brimah, a Class of 2013 big man out of Archbishop Coleman Carroll High and a native of Ghana, could step in right away and be a defensive force for the Huskies next season, according to his high school coach, Juan Hernandez.

"He's got huge upside," Hernandez recently told the Register. "Unlike some of the American kids who've been playing since they were little kids, he pretty much picked up the game 4-5 years ago. His ceiling is a lot higher than others. He's got a huge motor, he's an extremely enthusiastic kid. He works unbelievably hard."

When UConn assistant coach Karl Hobbs went to see Brimah play on Jan. 3, Brimah posted his fourth triple-double of the season with 18 points, 15 rebounds and 13 blocks against Charlotte High.

Brimah still needs some polishing on offense, though he's made great strides in that department over the past few months. According to Hernandez, Hobbs noticed that the big man was good at coming off ball screens.

"(Hobbs) said, '(Your team) runs a lot of ball screens, similar to what Coach Ollie does,'" Hernandez said. "'He'd fit right into what we're running.'"

Brimah checks in at about 210-215 pounds, according to Hernandez, and needs to get stronger. He also boasts a GPA of around 3.2-3.3 and is "very vocal, from a positive standpoint, within the team."

Brimah's parents still live in Ghana and he lives with a legal guardian in Miami. He arrived in Connecticut late Saturday night and is currently still on an official visit. Brimah is slated to take in Monday's UConn-Louisville battle at the XL Center in Hartford.